More than one-third of American gun owners say they do not secure all of their firearms in locked locations, a new survey shows.
The survey, conducted by the University of Pennsylvania's Annenberg Public Policy Center, found 37% of the more than 1,700 participants had guns at home. Of that group, 74% said they owned more than one gun.
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Among the people who reported having more than one gun, 61% said all of their firearms were stored in locked places, 20% said none of their guns were locked away, and 17% reported that "a few" or "most" were kept in locked locations.
Firearm-related injuries are the leading cause of death for children ages 1 to 17. Approximately 75% of guns used in unintentional injury deaths are stored loaded and unlocked, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Research has shown that people who die by suicide are more likely to live in homes with guns.
"One can disagree about the advisability of having guns at home," Kathleen Hall Jamieson, director of the Annenberg Public Policy Center, said in a news release. "But since secure storage minimizes inadvertent use, child access, and gun theft, we all should consider it part of responsible gun ownership."
The Annenberg survey, conducted between Jan. 30 and Feb. 10, also found that adults 50 and older were more likely to report having guns at home than adults ages 18 to 49. About 90% of people in the younger group reported either having no guns at home or that all their guns were stored in locked places, compared to just under 80% of people 50 and older.
The survey also found that people who identified as Republican or Republican-leaning were nearly twice as likely to own a gun as people who described themselves as Democrats or Democrat-leaning. There was no association between gun storage and political affiliation.
There are several ways to access free gun safety devices in the Philadelphia area:
• Temple University Hospital's Safe Bet program offers free gun locks to residents, no questions asked, as one of several initiatives to address and prevent harms related to gun violence.
• The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia also offers free cable lock safe storage devices for guns as part of an overall gun safety and education program.
• Philadelphia residents can get gun locks at the Philadelphia Sheriff's Office, on the Fifth Floor of 100 S. Broad Street, between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., or by calling (215) 686-3572.
